classicman

Hi,
I found my leak that I thought was the tranny. after talking to all you people its not the tranny its the back of one of my valve covers. Now the question. I called the local part store and they told me there is three types of gaskets. The one on my mustang is cork. Should I buy cork, rubber or silicone? Also is it easy to take off and replace?

lefty3382

Removing the valve covers is one of the easiest things there is to do on a Mustang engine. Simply unscrew the 6 bolts that hold the valve cover down and lift it off. Check the gasket thats on there now to see if its cracked or disintegrated at all. If the gasket is in good shape there shouldn't be any reason for it to leak, unless one of the rear bolts is loose or not tightened down fully. Check that first.

Any of the 3 types of gasket should work fine, although I don't think i've ever used a silicone gasket. I've used rubber before and I have cork on my valve covers right now. Don't use any sealant or RTV, just lay the gaskets in place and put the valve covers back, using the bolts to line them up. If the gaskets are good and the bolts are tight and you are still leaking, it might be a head gasket leak, which is a whole different barrel of monkeys. Let us know how it goes.

pootypeters

Yeah, I would definitely check the three lower bolts on the valve cover first to make sure that them being loose wasn't the actual problem. I had to tighten mine a few times before I got them to stay torqued down.

rmodel65

buy some of the gaskets with the metal inserts to prevent over torquing

67mustang302

Get the Fel Pro with the steel core, I think the outter is rubber? It's a reusable gasket that doesn't get all hard and crack like the cork ones can. The cork ones work as well, but yeah, get ones with the metal o rings in the bolt holes of the gasket.

fakesnakes

If you have stamped steel valve covers, put a straight edge on the sealing flange of the valve cover and make sure it is not warped from over tightening. This is very common and even the best gasket will not seal. It is also why I always run cast aluminum valve covers.